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PrimoPyro1990.... Thermite Incendiaries and Formulas ....DISCLAIMER : The making and possesion of the following devices and mixturesis probably illegal in most communities. The incendiaries are capable ofburning in excess of 5400 degrees F. and are next to impossible toextinguish. If you make them you accept all responsibility for theirpossesion and use. You also accept all responsibility for your own stupidity

and carelessness. This information is intended solely to educate.All Formulas are by weight Thermites are a group of pyrotechnics mixtures

in which a reactive metal reduces oxygen from a metallic oxide. This producesa lot of heat, slag and pure metal. The most common themite is ferroaluminumthermite, made from aluminum (reactive metal) and iron oxide (metal oxide).When it burns it produces aluminum oxide (slag) and pure iron. Thermite isusually used to cut or weld metal. As an experiment, a 3lb. brick of thermitewas placed on an aluminum engine block. After the thermite was done burning,only a small portion of block was melted. However, the block was very warpedout of shape plus there were cracks all through the block. Ferro-thermiteproduces about 930 calories per gram. The usual proportions of ferro-thermiteare 25% aluminum and 75% iron oxide. The iron oxide usually used is not rust

(Fe2O3) but iron scale (Fe3O4). Rust will work but you may want to adjust themixture to about 77% rust. The aluminum is usually coarse powder to help slowdown the burning rate. The chemicals are mixed together thoroughly andcompressed into a suitable container. A first fire mix is poured on top andignited. NOTE: Thermites are generally very safe to mix and store. They arenot shock or friction sensitive and ignite at about 2000 degrees F. A firstfire mix is a mixture that ignites easier than thermite and burns hot enoughto light the thermite reliably.

A very good one is :Potassium Nitrate 5 partsFine ground Aluminum 3 partsSulfur 2 parts

Mix the above thoroughly and combine 2 parts of it with 1 part of finelypowdered ferro-thermite. The resulting mixture can be light by safety fuseand burns intensely. One problem with thermites is the difference in weightbetween the aluminum and the oxide. This causes them to separate outrendering the thermite useless. One way to fix this is to use a binder tohold the chemicals to eachother. Sulfur is good for this. Called Diasite,this formula uses sulfur to bind all the chemicals together. It's drawback isthe thermite must be heated to melt the sulfur. Iron Oxide 70 % Aluminum 23 %Sulfur 7 %. Mix the oxide and aluminum together and put them in an oven at325 degrees F. and let the mix heat for a while. When the mixture is hotsprinkle the sulfur over it and mix well. Put this back in the oven for a few

minutes to melt all the sulfur. Pull it back out and mix it again. While itis still hot, load into containers for use. When it cools, drill out thediasite to hold about 10-15 grams of first fire mix. When diasite burns itforms sulfide compounds that release hydrogen sulfide when in contact withwater. This rotten egg odor can hamper fire fighting efforts. Thermite can bemade not to separate by compressing it under a couple of tons pressure. Theresulting pellet is strong and burns slower than thermite powder.

CAST THERMITE:This formula can be cast into molds or containers and hardens into a solid

mass. It does not produce as much iron as regular ferro-thermite, but itmakes a slag which stays liquid a lot longer. Make a mixtures as follows.Plaster of Paris 2 parts Fine and Coarse

Mixed Aluminum 2 partsIron Oxide 3 parts

Mix together well and and enough water to wet down plaster. Pour it into a

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mold and let it sit for 1/2 hour. Pour off any extra water that seperates outon top. Let this dry in the sun for at least a week. Or dry in the sun forone day and put in a 250 degree F. oven for a couple of hours. Drill it outfor a first fire mix when dry.

THERMITE BOMB:Thermite can be made to explode by taking the cast thermite formula and

substituting fine powdered aluminum for the coarse/fine mix. Take 15 grams offirst fire mix and put in the center of a piece of aluminum foil. Insert awaterproof fuse into the mix and gather up the foil around the fuse.Waterproof the foil/fuse with a thin coat of wax. Obtain a two-piecespherical mold with a diameter of about 4-5 inches. Wax or oil the inside ofthe mold to help release the thermite. Now, fill one half of themold with thecast thermite. Put the first fire/fuse package into the center of the filledmold. Fill the other half of the mold with the thermite and assemble mold.The mold will have to have a hole in it for the fuse to stick out. In aboutan hour, carefully separate the mold. You should have a ball of thermite withthe first fire mix in the center of it, and the fuse sticking out of theball. Dry the ball in the sun for about a week. DO NOT DRY IT IN AN OVEN! The

fuse ignites the first fire mix which in turn ignites the thermite. Since thethermite is ignited from the center out, the heat builds up in the thermiteand it burns faster than normal. The result is a small explosion. Thethermite ball burns in a split second and throws molten iron and slag around.Use this carefully!

THERMITE WELL:To cut metal with thermite, take a refractory crucible and drill a 1/4 in.

hole in the bottom. Epoxy a thin (20 ga.) sheet of mild steel over the hole.Allow the epoxy to dry. Fill the crucible with ferro-thermite and insert afirst fire igniter in the thermite. Fashion a standoff to the crucible. Thisshould hold the crucible about 1 1/2 in. up. Place the well over your targetand ignite the first fire. The well works this way. The thermite burns,

making slag and iron. Since the iron is heavier it goes to the bottom of thewell. The molten iron burns through the metal sheet. This produces a smalldelay which gives the iron and slag more time to separate fully. The molteniron drips out through the hole in the bottom of the crucible. The standoffallows the thermite to continue flowing out of the crucible. The force of thedripping iron bores a hole in the target. A 2 lb. thermite well can penetrateup to 3/4 in. of steel. Experiment with different configurations to getmaximum penetration. For a crucible, try a flower pot coated with a magnesiumoxide layer. Sometimes the pot cracks however. Take the cast thermiteformula and add 50% ferro-thermite to it. This produces a fair amount of ironplus a very liquid slag.

THERMITE FUEL-AIR EXPLOSION:This is a very dangerous device. Ask yourself if you really truly want to

make it before you do any work on it. It is next to impossible to give anydimensions of containers or weights of charges because of the availability ofparts changes from one person to the next. However here is a generaldescription of this device affectionately known as a HELLHOUND. Make athermite charge in a 1/8 in. wall pipe. This charge must be electricallyignited. At the opposite end of the pipe away from the ignitor side put asmall explosive charge of flash powder weighing about 1 oz. Drill a smallhole in a pipe end cap and run the wires from the ignitor through the hole.Seal the wires and hole up with fuel proof epoxy or cement. Try ferrulecement available at sporting goods stores. Dope the threads of the end capswith a good pipe dope and screw them onto the pipe. This gives you a thermite

charge in an iron pipe arranged so that when the thermite is electricallyignited, it will burn from one end to the other finally setting of the flashpowder charge. Place this device in a larger pipe or very stout metal

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container which is sealed at one end. Use a couple of metal "spiders" to keepthe device away from the walls or ends of the larger container. Run the wiresout through the wall of the container and seal the wires with the fuel proofepoxy. Fill the container with a volatile liquid fuel. Acetone or gasolineworks great. Now seal up the container with an appropriate end cap and it isdone. The device works like this: Attach a timer-power supply to the wires.When the thermite is ignited it superheats the liquid fuel. Since the

container is strong enough to hold the pressure the fuel does not boil. Whenthe thermite burns down to the explosive, it explodes rupturing the containerand releasing the superheated fuel. The fuel expands, cooling off and makinga fine mist and vapor that mixes with the surrounding air. The hot thermiteslag is also thrown into the air which ignites the fuel-air mix. The resultis obvious. Try about 1 1/2 lbs of thermite to a gallon of fuel. For thepressure vessel, try an old pressure cooker. Because the fuel may dissolvethe epoxy don't keep this device around for very long. But ask yourself, doyou really want to make this?

EXOTIC THERMITES:Thermites can also be made from teflon-magnesium or metal flourides-

magnesium or aluminum. If there is an excess of flouride compound in the mix-ture, flourine gas can be released. Flourine is extremely corrosive andreactive. The gas can cause organic material to burst into flames by merecontact. For teflon-magnesium use 67% teflon and 33% magnesium. A strongfirst fire igniter should be used to ignite this mixture. Both the teflon andthe magnesium should be in powdered form. Do not inhale any smoke from theburning mixture. If you use metal-florides instead of teflon, use flouridesof low energy metals. Lead flouride is a good example. Try using 90% leadflouride and 10% aluminum.

Warning:Flouride compounds can be very poisonous. They are approximately equal to

cyanide compounds. Another exotic mix is tricalcium orthophosphate and

aluminum. When this burns, it forms calcium phosphide which when contactswater releases hydrogen phosphide which can ignite spontaneously in air.Tricalcium orthophosphate has the formula Ca3(PO4)2 and is known as white-lockite. Use about 75% orthophosphate and 25% aluminum. This ratio may haveto be altered for better burning as I have not experimented with it much anddon't know if more aluminum may reduce the calcium better. It does work butit is a hard to ignite mixture. A first fire mix containing a few percent ofmagnesium works well. Fighting thermite fires: Two ways to fight thermitefires are either smothering the thermite with sand. This doesn't put out thethermite but it does help contain it and block some of the heat. The otherway is to flood the thermite with a great amount of water. This helps tobreak the thermite apart and stop the reaction. If you use a small amount ofwater, an explosion may result as the thermite may reduce the water andrelease hydrogen gas. Thermite can start fires from the heat radiating fromthe reaction. Nearby flammable substances can catch fire even though nosparks or flame touch them.

*** Kilroy was here ***

Compiled for the '94 CookBook 4.14 -- Exodus

Heavly edited by: _--=PeEll=--_(tm) When I found this phile it was one lineand it gave you an error that said devided by zero.